March 5
1800s *1860 - Sam Thompson is born in Danville, Indiana. An outstanding slugger and a fine right fielder in the dead ball era, Thompson will collect 200 or more hits three times, finishing his 15-season majors career with a lifetime mark of .336, 126 home runs, and 1299 RBI, including an NL batting crown (1887) and two home run titles (1889 and 1895). Thompson will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1974. *1886 - A business wrangle in the NL ends in a weakening of the league's famous 50 cents admission standard. the St. Louis Maroons and Philadelphia Phillies, the two clubs facing rival American Association teams with an admission of 25 cents, are allowed to charge a minimum of a quarter. Newcomers Washington Nationals and Kansas City Cowboys are stuck with the 50 cents minimum, but are given the option of selling three tickets for a dollar. *1888 - The American Association meets in Brooklyn, New York, and votes to make use of turnstiles mandatory at all entrances to its parks. *1889 - Both the NL and American Association hold their spring meetings to adopt their schedules. The NL also hires a fifth umpire at a salary of $200 per month. The AA, to the surprise of many, does not adopt the NL's salary classification system. *1894 - St. Louis Browns owner Chris Von der Ahe, unable to hire either Harry Wright or Phil Powers as manager, announces that he will manage the club himself. Von der Ahe will eventually name starting infielder George (Doggie) Miller as manager. 1900-1920s *1901 - The American League approves a 14-player limit to go into effect 14 days after the start of the season. As noted by Cliff Blau, the limit is changed at the last minute, the deadline postponed for two weeks, and the limit increased to 15 players by Ban Johnson, after six teams request the change. *1916 - The NL meeting of February 1916 announces that it has come to the league's attention that "some of the diamonds" don't measure properly. On this day, John Heydler's office circulates to clubs the news of the Chicago Cubs' pitching distance, and orders an engineer's certification. *1922 - New York Yankees star Babe Ruth becomes the highest paid player in history when he signs a three-year contract that will pay him over $50,000 per season. In 1921, Ruth led the AL with 59 home runs and 171 RBI. 1930s *1936 - The St. Louis Cardinals — without the brothers Paul and Dizzy Dean, who are once again holdouts — visit Cuba and are beaten by the Cuban all-stars. Luis Tiant, Sr., whose son Luis Jr. will win 229 ML games, is the starting pitcher for the Cubans. 1940s *1941 - Brooklyn Dodgers president Larry MacPhail issues instructions that all Dodgers players must live in Brooklyn. MacPhail is also campaigning for visiting teams to stay in Brooklyn rather than Manhattan. *1942 - Variety, the weekly entertainment magazine, wades in against "droopy drawers" in baseball. "Joe DiMaggio and Carl Hubbell are the silliest looking pair we've seen. Way back in the days when the speed boys were stealing 40 to 90 bases a year, you'll remember they used to roll their pants just below the knee. Now they've got 'em almost to their shoes. The theory here is that the constriction inherent in the new style can slow a player a full stride getting to first." *1945: **Bert Shepard, a one-legged veteran of the war, tries out as a pitcher for the Washington Senators. The symbol of wartime baseball, outfielder Pete Gray of the St. Louis Browns, will field and bat with only one arm. **With war-time travel restrictions still in effect, the Dodgers open spring training at Bear Mountain, New York with 15 players in camp. Seven teams — the Browns, Tigers, Reds, Indians, Cubs, Pirates and White Sox — are training in Indiana, the most of any state. The Red Sox are at Tufts College in Massachusetts, while the Braves are prepping at the Choate School in Connecticut. 1950s *1952 - Norman Bel Geddes, after designing a 5,000 seat complex for the Brooklyn Dodgers in Vero Beach, Florida, states that team owner Walter O'Malley has asked for a stadium design for the team. It is to have a retractable dome, garage, automatic hotdog vending machines, and artificial turf that can be painted in different colors. *1958 - Duke Snider, Johnny Podres, and Don Zimmer suffer minor injuries in an auto accident in Vero Beach, Florida, as they try to beat a 12:30 A.M. curfew. This is the third accident involving Dodgers players in the last two months; Jim Gilliam and his family had an accident shortly after Roy Campanella's. 1960s *1962 - Cincinnati Reds third baseman Gene Freese will be out until August 17 due to a severe ankle fracture suffered in the team's first intrasquad game. *1964 - Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. says he has a verbal commitment from a major league baseball club to move there if a stadium is ready by 1965. Funding for a $15M stadium is approved the next day by the city Board of Aldermen. *1965 - Former All-Star Johnny (Pepper) Martin dies at the age of 61. A member of the St. Louis Cardinals' legendary “Gashouse Gang,” Martin batted .298 over a 13-year major league career. In 1933, Martin led the NL with 122 runs scored. *1966 - United Steelworkers union official Marvin Miller is named the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Under Miller's guidance, the players union will make major gains such as salary increases, improvements in pension benefits, and the advent of free agency and salary arbitration. 1970s *1973 - New York Yankees pitchers Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson make a stunning declaration. The left-handers announce that they have traded wives, children, and family dogs. The announcement sends shock waves through the baseball world. *1975 - Former Boston Red Sox star Tony Conigliaro begins a comeback attempt by signing a contract with Triple-A Pawtucket, Boston's top affiliate in the International League. “Tony C” will make the Red Sox major league roster, but will bat only .123 in 57 at-bats before deciding to retire. 1980s *1982 - Needing just three wins to reach 300 for his career, pitcher Gaylord Perry signs a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners. *1986 - The Atlanta Braves acquire hard-hitting catcher Ted Simmons from the Milwaukee Brewers for defensive-minded catcher Rick Cerone and a pair of minor leaguers. Simmons hit .273 with 76 RBI in 1985. 1990s *1996 - The Veterans Committee elects four new members for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and just misses naming a fifth. The group elected includes fiery manager Earl Weaver, who had a .583 winning percentage in 17 seasons managing the Baltimore Orioles; pitcher Jim Bunning, who won 100 games in both leagues, including no-hitters; 19th-century manager Ned Hanlon, who won five NL pennants with the Baltimore Orioles (3) and Brooklyn (2), and Bill Foster, the winningest pitcher in the Negro Leagues. Nellie Fox receives the necessary 75% of the Committee's votes, but the rules allow just one modern player elected, and Bunning has more votes. 2000s *2003 - Although not agreeing to ban ephedra, a memo is sent to all major leaguers by the players' union strongly recommending players "be extremely reluctant to use any products" containing the substance. The diet supplement, which is available without a prescription, has been linked to the spring training death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Belcher. *2006 - At Tokyo Dome, South Korea upset fierce rivals Japan, 3–2, on a towering home run from slugger Lee Seung-yeop to sweep the Asian Pool A of the World Baseball Classic. As final-out duels go, between the most famous pitcher in Korean history versus Japan's most successful export, the San Diego Padres' Chan Ho Park secured a memorable victory for South Korea by retiring Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners on a pop-up fly. It mattered little that both South Korea (3-0) and Japan (2-1) had already qualified for the next round of the 16-team tournament. In the opening game, Taiwan crushed China, 12-3, as the two underdogs in were left playing for pride. Taiwan (1-2) ended in third place, and China (0-3) was last. Japan and South Korea will face the top two teams from a pool of the United States, Canada, Mexico and South Africa in the quarter-finals. Births *1860 - Sam Thompson, Hall of Fame outfielder (d. 1922) *1889 - Jeff Tesreau, pitcher (d. 1946) *1897 - Lu Blue, infielder (d. 1958) *1897 - Virgil Barnes, pitcher (d. 1958) *1921 - Elmer Valo, outfielder (d. 1998) *1930 - Del Crandall, All-Star catcher *1941 - Phil Roof, catcher *1947 - Kent Tekulve, All-Star pitcher *1950 - Doug Bird, pitcher *1952 - Mike Squires, infielder *1961 - Steve Ontiveros, All-Star pitcher *1971 - Chad Fonville, infielder/outfielder *1971 - Jeffrey Hammonds, All-Star outfielder *1971 - Brian L. Hunter, outfielder *1973 - Ryan Franklin, pitcher *1973 - Felipe Crespo, infielder/outfielder *1976 - Paul Konerko, All-Star infielder *1977 - Mike MacDougal, All-Star pitcher *1979 - Eric Bedard, pitcher Deaths *1897 - Dave Foutz, IF/OF/P (b. 1856) *1965 - Pepper Martin, All-Star OF/IF (b. 1904) *1995 - Roy Hughes, infielder (b. 1911)